The Illinois General Assembly has passed SB157, a budget bill including language that would exempt breast pumps, breast pump collection, storage supplies, and breast pump kits from sales tax in the state beginning on July 1.
Once signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker, which is expected, the bill is estimated to save Illinois HME providers $1.1 million annually, according to the American Association for Homecare.
The effort for the sales tax reform began after a subgroup of AAHomecare’s Breastfeeding Coalition initially engaged lobbyists in Illinois to assist with repealing the sales tax for breast pumps. That initially led to two bills being introduced in the state’s General Assembly and Senate at the start of this year.
“Our strong champion in the Illinois House, Rep. Barbara Hernandez, has worked with providers and other maternal health advocates for two years to see this legislation through,” said Tilly Gambill, director of marketing communications for AAHomecare. “By activating grassroots support, engaging IBCLC professionals to testify, and inviting likeminded stakeholders to weigh in on the issue, our coalition was able to impress upon legislators the benefit of a tax exemption and reach the finish line. We look forward to duplicating these efforts in states without sales tax exemption laws currently in place for medically necessary items for families.”
Eight other states, including Connecticut, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and New York, have passed similar bills.
